(Re-posted from Politico.com) James O’Keefe, the self-styled guerilla investigative journalist celebrated for his video on ACORN and arrested last month in New Orleans in an attempted expose of Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, got a rock star welcome at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday.

O’Keefe, 25, wasn’t scheduled to do any official events at CPAC, as the conference is known, but he attracted plenty of attention as he waded through the lobby of the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, where the conference is taking place, posing for pictures with admiring fans who wished him well in his pending court case.

O’Keefe became a instant conservative celebrity last year when he and a partner, Hannah Giles, released secretly recorded videos of them posing as a pimp and prostitute while soliciting advice from employees of ACORN, the liberal community organizing group, on how to set up a brothel.

But last month, after he and two other men entered Landrieu’s New Orleans district office pretending to be telephone repairmen, while a fourth man waited outside, they were arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and charged with entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony, charges that carry maximum penalties of 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

According to an FBI affidavit, two of the men attempted to manipulate telephones and accessed the telephone closet, while O’Keefe filmed them on his cell phone camera.

Their supporters say their goal was to show that staffers for Landrieu, who became a target of conservative scorn for voting for the Senate healthcare overhaul after being promised additional Medicaid funding for her state, was ignoring constituent phone calls.

In a short interview in a hotel hallway, O’Keefe told POLITICO he had another investigative video “ready to go,” though he wouldn’t reveal the topic or the timing. “I’m always ready to go,” he said.

The ACORN videos, which resulted in a Congressional vote to stop federal funding for the group before a federal judge ordered the funding restored, will be recognized Friday evening with an award from XPAC, the acronym for “Xtremely Active Political Conservatives,” which is holding its own events at the conference.

O’Keefe – who had to get permission from his parole office to attend CPAC – told POLITICO he wasn’t sure if the terms of his probation would allow him to remain in Washington to accept the award or would require him to return to his parents’ home in New Jersey.

“My business model is I want to be a talent scout. I want to be an American idol for weaponized freedom fighters,” said Breitbart. “And that’s one of the reasons I love coming here.”

“I love meeting troublemakers,” Breitbart said, adding he was impressed by Basel and Dai, and intends to use CPAC to scout for more young people interested in activist journalism.

Breitbart said he continues to work with O’Keefe and intends to post his next video project, but said he only met Basel and a third person who was arrested in New Orleans, 24-year-old Stan Dai, at a Wednesday night party hosted by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks PAC.

(Re-posted from Politico.com) James O’Keefe, the self-styled guerilla investigative journalist celebrated for his video on ACORN and arrested last month in New Orleans in an attempted expose of Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, got a rock star welcome at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday.

O’Keefe, 25, wasn’t scheduled to do any official events at CPAC, as the conference is known, but he attracted plenty of attention as he waded through the lobby of the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, where the conference is taking place, posing for pictures with admiring fans who wished him well in his pending court case.

O’Keefe became a instant conservative celebrity last year when he and a partner, Hannah Giles, released secretly recorded videos of them posing as a pimp and prostitute while soliciting advice from employees of ACORN, the liberal community organizing group, on how to set up a brothel.

But last month, after he and two other men entered Landrieu’s New Orleans district office pretending to be telephone repairmen, while a fourth man waited outside, they were arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and charged with entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony, charges that carry maximum penalties of 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

According to an FBI affidavit, two of the men attempted to manipulate telephones and accessed the telephone closet, while O’Keefe filmed them on his cell phone camera.

Their supporters say their goal was to show that staffers for Landrieu, who became a target of conservative scorn for voting for the Senate healthcare overhaul after being promised additional Medicaid funding for her state, was ignoring constituent phone calls.

In a short interview in a hotel hallway, O’Keefe told POLITICO he had another investigative video “ready to go,” though he wouldn’t reveal the topic or the timing. “I’m always ready to go,” he said.

The ACORN videos, which resulted in a Congressional vote to stop federal funding for the group before a federal judge ordered the funding restored, will be recognized Friday evening with an award from XPAC, the acronym for “Xtremely Active Political Conservatives,” which is holding its own events at the conference.

O’Keefe – who had to get permission from his parole office to attend CPAC – told POLITICO he wasn’t sure if the terms of his probation would allow him to remain in Washington to accept the award or would require him to return to his parents’ home in New Jersey.

“My business model is I want to be a talent scout. I want to be an American idol for weaponized freedom fighters,” said Breitbart. “And that’s one of the reasons I love coming here.”

“I love meeting troublemakers,” Breitbart said, adding he was impressed by Basel and Dai, and intends to use CPAC to scout for more young people interested in activist journalism.

Breitbart said he continues to work with O’Keefe and intends to post his next video project, but said he only met Basel and a third person who was arrested in New Orleans, 24-year-old Stan Dai, at a Wednesday night party hosted by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks PAC.

(Re-posted from Politico.com) James O’Keefe, the self-styled guerilla investigative journalist celebrated for his video on ACORN and arrested last month in New Orleans in an attempted expose of Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, got a rock star welcome at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday.

O’Keefe, 25, wasn’t scheduled to do any official events at CPAC, as the conference is known, but he attracted plenty of attention as he waded through the lobby of the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, where the conference is taking place, posing for pictures with admiring fans who wished him well in his pending court case.

O’Keefe became a instant conservative celebrity last year when he and a partner, Hannah Giles, released secretly recorded videos of them posing as a pimp and prostitute while soliciting advice from employees of ACORN, the liberal community organizing group, on how to set up a brothel.

But last month, after he and two other men entered Landrieu’s New Orleans district office pretending to be telephone repairmen, while a fourth man waited outside, they were arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and charged with entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony, charges that carry maximum penalties of 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

According to an FBI affidavit, two of the men attempted to manipulate telephones and accessed the telephone closet, while O’Keefe filmed them on his cell phone camera.

Their supporters say their goal was to show that staffers for Landrieu, who became a target of conservative scorn for voting for the Senate healthcare overhaul after being promised additional Medicaid funding for her state, was ignoring constituent phone calls.

In a short interview in a hotel hallway, O’Keefe told POLITICO he had another investigative video “ready to go,” though he wouldn’t reveal the topic or the timing. “I’m always ready to go,” he said.

The ACORN videos, which resulted in a Congressional vote to stop federal funding for the group before a federal judge ordered the funding restored, will be recognized Friday evening with an award from XPAC, the acronym for “Xtremely Active Political Conservatives,” which is holding its own events at the conference.

O’Keefe – who had to get permission from his parole office to attend CPAC – told POLITICO he wasn’t sure if the terms of his probation would allow him to remain in Washington to accept the award or would require him to return to his parents’ home in New Jersey.

“My business model is I want to be a talent scout. I want to be an American idol for weaponized freedom fighters,” said Breitbart. “And that’s one of the reasons I love coming here.”

“I love meeting troublemakers,” Breitbart said, adding he was impressed by Basel and Dai, and intends to use CPAC to scout for more young people interested in activist journalism.

Breitbart said he continues to work with O’Keefe and intends to post his next video project, but said he only met Basel and a third person who was arrested in New Orleans, 24-year-old Stan Dai, at a Wednesday night party hosted by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks PAC.

“I learned from a number of sources that many of Senator Landrieu’s constituents were having trouble getting through to her office to tell her that they didn’t want her taking millions of federal dollars in exchange for her vote on the healthcare bill. When asked about this, Senator Landrieu’s explanation was that, “Our lines have been jammed for weeks.” I decided to investigate why a representative of the people would be out of touch with her constituents for “weeks” because her phones were broken. In investigating this matter, we decided to visit Senator Landrieu’s district office – the people’s office – to ask the staff if their phones were working.

On reflection, I could have used a different approach to this investigation, particularly given the sensitivities that people understandably have about security in a federal building. The sole intent of our investigation was to determine whether or not Senator Landrieu was purposely trying to avoid constituents who were calling to register their views to her as their Senator. We video taped the entire visit, the government has those tapes, and I’m eager for them to be released because they refute the false claims being repeated by much of the mainstream media.”

It seems O’Keefe was trying to get to the bottom of the “jammed phones” mystery (in “the people’s office”). This project did not involve illegal wire taps (sorry Keith Olbermann and MSNBC) it was, much like the revealing ACORN project, a search for truth. Of course the liberal-left want this kid locked up, why wouldn’t they? I hope he is back at it soon. Good work James.

“I learned from a number of sources that many of Senator Landrieu’s constituents were having trouble getting through to her office to tell her that they didn’t want her taking millions of federal dollars in exchange for her vote on the healthcare bill. When asked about this, Senator Landrieu’s explanation was that, “Our lines have been jammed for weeks.” I decided to investigate why a representative of the people would be out of touch with her constituents for “weeks” because her phones were broken. In investigating this matter, we decided to visit Senator Landrieu’s district office – the people’s office – to ask the staff if their phones were working.

On reflection, I could have used a different approach to this investigation, particularly given the sensitivities that people understandably have about security in a federal building. The sole intent of our investigation was to determine whether or not Senator Landrieu was purposely trying to avoid constituents who were calling to register their views to her as their Senator. We video taped the entire visit, the government has those tapes, and I’m eager for them to be released because they refute the false claims being repeated by much of the mainstream media.”

It seems O’Keefe was trying to get to the bottom of the “jammed phones” mystery (in “the people’s office”). This project did not involve illegal wire taps (sorry Keith Olbermann and MSNBC) it was, much like the revealing ACORN project, a search for truth. Of course the liberal-left want this kid locked up, why wouldn’t they? I hope he is back at it soon. Good work James.

“I learned from a number of sources that many of Senator Landrieu’s constituents were having trouble getting through to her office to tell her that they didn’t want her taking millions of federal dollars in exchange for her vote on the healthcare bill. When asked about this, Senator Landrieu’s explanation was that, “Our lines have been jammed for weeks.” I decided to investigate why a representative of the people would be out of touch with her constituents for “weeks” because her phones were broken. In investigating this matter, we decided to visit Senator Landrieu’s district office – the people’s office – to ask the staff if their phones were working.

On reflection, I could have used a different approach to this investigation, particularly given the sensitivities that people understandably have about security in a federal building. The sole intent of our investigation was to determine whether or not Senator Landrieu was purposely trying to avoid constituents who were calling to register their views to her as their Senator. We video taped the entire visit, the government has those tapes, and I’m eager for them to be released because they refute the false claims being repeated by much of the mainstream media.”

It seems O’Keefe was trying to get to the bottom of the “jammed phones” mystery (in “the people’s office”). This project did not involve illegal wire taps (sorry Keith Olbermann and MSNBC) it was, much like the revealing ACORN project, a search for truth. Of course the liberal-left want this kid locked up, why wouldn’t they? I hope he is back at it soon. Good work James.

Source: The Atlantic: James O’Keefe, the conservative filmmaker who posed as a pimp in video stings at ACORN field offices, has been arrested by the FBI at Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) office in downtown New Orleans, in connection to what appears to be an attempt to wiretap the offiice, NOLA.com reports:

FBI Special Agent Steven Rayes alleges that O’Keefe aided and abetted two others, Joseph Basel and Robert Flanagan, who dressed up as employees of a telephone company and attempted to interfere with the office’s telephone system.

A fourth person, Stan Dai, was accused of aiding and abetting Basel and Flanagan. All four were charged with entering fedral property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony.

O’Keefe gained notoriety for his secretly filmed ACORN videos, which caused a firestorm of media intrigue surrounding ACORN after O’Keefe posted them on the Andrew-Brietbart-owned blog Big Government last year.

UPDATE: The Atlantic now reporting Mary Landrieu’s statement regarding the incident: “This is a very unusual situation and somewhat unsettling for me and my staff. The individuals responsible have been charged with entering federal property under false pretenses for the purposes of committing a felony. I am as interested as everyone else about their motives and purpose, which I hope will become clear as the investigation moves forward.”

UPDATE: HotAir reporting-if convicted he could face up to 10 years in prison.

Source: The Atlantic: James O’Keefe, the conservative filmmaker who posed as a pimp in video stings at ACORN field offices, has been arrested by the FBI at Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) office in downtown New Orleans, in connection to what appears to be an attempt to wiretap the offiice, NOLA.com reports:

FBI Special Agent Steven Rayes alleges that O’Keefe aided and abetted two others, Joseph Basel and Robert Flanagan, who dressed up as employees of a telephone company and attempted to interfere with the office’s telephone system.

A fourth person, Stan Dai, was accused of aiding and abetting Basel and Flanagan. All four were charged with entering fedral property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony.

O’Keefe gained notoriety for his secretly filmed ACORN videos, which caused a firestorm of media intrigue surrounding ACORN after O’Keefe posted them on the Andrew-Brietbart-owned blog Big Government last year.

UPDATE: The Atlantic now reporting Mary Landrieu’s statement regarding the incident: “This is a very unusual situation and somewhat unsettling for me and my staff. The individuals responsible have been charged with entering federal property under false pretenses for the purposes of committing a felony. I am as interested as everyone else about their motives and purpose, which I hope will become clear as the investigation moves forward.”

UPDATE: HotAir reporting-if convicted he could face up to 10 years in prison.

Source: The Atlantic: James O’Keefe, the conservative filmmaker who posed as a pimp in video stings at ACORN field offices, has been arrested by the FBI at Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) office in downtown New Orleans, in connection to what appears to be an attempt to wiretap the offiice, NOLA.com reports:

FBI Special Agent Steven Rayes alleges that O’Keefe aided and abetted two others, Joseph Basel and Robert Flanagan, who dressed up as employees of a telephone company and attempted to interfere with the office’s telephone system.

A fourth person, Stan Dai, was accused of aiding and abetting Basel and Flanagan. All four were charged with entering fedral property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony.

O’Keefe gained notoriety for his secretly filmed ACORN videos, which caused a firestorm of media intrigue surrounding ACORN after O’Keefe posted them on the Andrew-Brietbart-owned blog Big Government last year.

UPDATE: The Atlantic now reporting Mary Landrieu’s statement regarding the incident: “This is a very unusual situation and somewhat unsettling for me and my staff. The individuals responsible have been charged with entering federal property under false pretenses for the purposes of committing a felony. I am as interested as everyone else about their motives and purpose, which I hope will become clear as the investigation moves forward.”

UPDATE: HotAir reporting-if convicted he could face up to 10 years in prison.

Health care reform, such a wonderful idea in theory; extend coverage to millions, improve care, find better doctors [somewhere], full coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, taming evil insurance companies and lower costs for small business all while protecting Medicare. Wow. And the best part of the proposed legislation: it significantly reduces our national deficit. With all the thoughtful amenities Harry Reid and company are unselfishly offering, how could any sane American refuse? Just sayin’.

Now back to reality. When you hear “Senators are mostly an honest bunch” or “Congress only wants what is best for the American people”, what sorts of things come to mind? Personally, I struggle to refrain from laughing aloud. Now maybe you are one of the few who truly believe members of Congress are an honest and decent collection of patriots (no, seriously). I just can’t seem to get around the pesky facts: Read the rest of this entry »